Title - Chakki railway bridge pillars damaged in flash flood

Nurpur:
The flash flood in the Chakki rivulet following rain washed away protection steps of six pillars of the Chakki railway bridge on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge railway line, near here, this morning. These cemented steps had been built by the Railway Department by spending lakhs of rupees a few months ago to render protection cover to all 22 supporting pillars of the Chakki bridge.Pillar number 4 of this bridge was washed way in August 2011 and pillars numbers 5, 6 and 10 were partially damaged in flash floods in the Chakki rivulet. The railway traffic on this line remained suspended for about a year. Mining in the Chakki riverbed was considered to be a major cause of pillar damage in the past. Fourteen trains (up and down) have been providing economical traffic facility to thousands of commuters daily on this railway route connecting Pathankot (Punjab) with the Kangra valley.Manjeet Goyal, Assistant Engineer, Railway, admitted that due to a cloud burst in Chamba district and a flash flood in the Chakki rivulet, protection steps of pillars (5 to 7) of the Chakki bridge had been washed away today and these would be constructed or repaired soon.